Bathtub seat attachment



March 21, 1939. B -r2 2,151,581

BATHTUB SEAT ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. 5, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 21, 1939. G, B, BENTZ 2,151,581

BATH'IUB SEAT ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. 5, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7 M -ri 4'.

deoye Z5. Beniz March 21, 1939. BENTZ 2,151,581

BATHTUB SEAT ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. 5, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 22 I w/r/vess Patented Mar. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

bers having supports to rest upon the tub rim, or

end members having no such supports and adapted to wedge into position.

A still further object is to provide unusually simple and inexpensive, yet efficient and durable construction.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accom-- plished by reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an edge View of one form of the invention in raised position within a bathtub, the lowered position of the seat being shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the attachment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating a different form of construction.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the attachment shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to a construction which tion.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one end of the attachment shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a construction which wedges into the tub.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of one end of the attachment shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an edge view showing a still further form of construction in operative position, the seat being raised.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the attachment shown in Fig. 9 illustrating the seat lowered,

Fig. 11 is an edge View illustrating the manner in which the device of Figs. 9 and 10 may be folded into compact space when not in use.

Fig. 12 is a. perspective view showing a still further form of construction.

In the drawings above briefly described, preferred details of construction have been illustrated, and while said details will be rather specifi- 55 cally explained, it is to be understood that vari- Fig. 1 but showing wedges into operative posiations may be made within the scope of the invention as'claimed.

The forms of construction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive possess a number of features in common which may be described with the use of the same 5 reference characters. Two U-shaped end frames I2 are provided to lie against the downwardly converging side walls I3 of a bathtub I4, the vertical side arms I5 of said frames being bent outwardly at their upper ends as shown at I6 to lie upon the m tub rim. Preferably these supports I6 are connected by rods I'l. Parallel vertical flanges I8 are welded or otherwise secured to the side arms I5 to project inwardly from the tub walls I 3, said flanges being preferably of triangular shape in order that their inner edges may be vertically disposed. In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the inner edges of the flanges I8 are con nected by upper and lower horizontal rods I9 and 2|] respectively, but no such rods are employed 20 in Figs. 1 and 2.

A seat 2| is provided to extend between the two end members or frames I2, and links 22 pivotally connect said seat with said end members: or frames and permit said seat to occupy either a raised or a lowered position, said links being pivoted at 23 to the edges of the seat 2I and being pivoted at 24 to the flanges I8, in the present disclosure. In the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the seat 2I rests upon the upper rods 19 30 when in raised position and upon the lower rods 20 when in lowered position, said rods relieving the links 22 of some of the weight of the seat and its occupant In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and '2, however, the links carry this weight, said weight being transmitted to the tub rim by the end members I2 and their lateral supports I6, without causing any appreciable outward pressure upon the tub side walls I3, which pressure must often be avoided particularly if 40 the tub be of relatively thin pressed metal construction. The construction shown in Figs. 3 and 4 also possesses these same advantages.

In Figs. 5 and 6, I have shown a construction identical with that of Figs. 1 and 2, except that no 45 metal supports such as It are employed. In this form of the invention, the frames I2 have their side arms I5? connected directly by a rod Il and the seat 2 I is pivoted to links 22 which are pivot ally connected with the flanges I8 of said frames 5 or end members I2 This form of construction wedges into operative position between the tub Walls as will be clear from Fig. 5.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the end members orframes I2 are identical with those shown in Figs. 5 and 6,

except that they are provided with upper and lower rods I9 20*- corresponding to the rods 19 and 20 above described and adapted to support the seat 2 l when the latter occupies its raised or lowered positions respectively, said seat being connected with the frames [2' by links 22 In Figs. 9, 10 and 11, I have shown a construction which may well be constructed from wood if desired, with the exception of the links 22 and their pivots 23 and 24. The end members I2 are of wedge-like form to lie against the tub side walls, the inner faces I8 of said end members being disposed in downwardly converging relation when the device is operatively positioned. The seat 2| is provided with beveled ends 2| to abut the faces l8 when the seat is moved either to the raised position of Fig. 9 or to the lowered position of Fig. 10. This form of construction is intended to wedge tightly into the tub, and. the end members l2 are preferably provided with ribbed rubber strips I2 to anti-slippingly abut the tub. When the device is not in use, it may be compactly folded as seen in Fig. 11, which is of advantage in the stockrooms of the factory or the retailer, or in the home, being of particular advantage when the devices are to be placed in cartons and delivered by mail order houses.

In the form shown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11, due to the fact that the tub side walls crowd the end members [20 inwardly into tight frictional contact with the beveled ends 2 I of the seat 2 l e, the links 220 are called upon to support very little weight and may therefore be of light construction to act primarily as means for unitarily connecting the end members and seat and for guiding them when adjustments are being made to position said seat at a raised or a lowered position.

In Fig. 12, an end frame l2 and a seat 2N are connected by pivoted links 22, each formed of overlapped sections adjustably secured together by a bolt-and-slot-connection 22 By adjusting the length of the links 22 the seat may be supported at different heights whether occupying a raised or a lowered position.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention, and attention is again invited to the possibility of making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, in the form shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the ends 2 l of the seat may be rounded instead of beveled and seated in half-round upper and lower grooves formed in the opposed faces I8 of the end members I2.

I claim:

1. A seat attachment for a bathtub, comprising two end members to engage the inner sides of the opposed walls of a tub, said end members having upper seat-engaging portions and lower seatengaging portions, a seat to extend between said end members, and links pivoted at one end to said end members and at the other end to said seat, said links being swingable to raised and lowered positions to allow vertical adjustment of the seat into engagement with said upper or said lower seat-engaging portions.

2. A seat attachment for a bathtub, comprising two end members to abut the inner sides of the opposed walls of a tub, a seat to extend between said end members, and links pivoted to said end members and to said seat and swingable to raised and lowered positions to allow vertical adjustment of the seat to a raised or a lowered position, said end members being provided with upper and lower supports upon which the ends of the seat rest when said seat occupies said raised and lowered positions respectively.

3. A seat attachment for a bathtub, comprising two end members to abut the inner sides of the opposed walls of a tub, a seat to extend between said end members, and links pivoted to said end members and to said seat and swingable to raised and lowered positions to allow vertical adjustment of the seat to a raised or a lowered position, said end members having lateral supports at their upper ends to rest upon the tub rim.

4. A seat attachment for a bathtub, comprising two U-shaped frames to lie against the inner sides of the opposed walls of a tub, the vertical side arms of said U-shaped frames being provided with parallel vertical flanges to project inwardly from the tub walls, a seat to extend between said side frames, and links pivoted to said seat and to said flanges and swingable to raised and lowered positions to allow vertical adjustment of the seat to a raised or a lowered position.

5. A seat attachment for a bathtub, comprising two U-shaped frames to lie against the inner sides of the opposed walls of a tub, the vertical side arms of said U-shaped frames being provided with parallel vertical flanges to project inwardly from the tub walls, a seat to extend between said side frames, links pivoted to said seat and to said flanges and swingable to raised and lowered positions to allow vertical adjustment of the seat to a raised or a lowered position, and upper and lower horizontal rods secured to said flanges of each end frame to support the seat in said raised or lowered position respectively.

6. A seat attachment for a bathtub, comprising two U-shaped frames to lie against the inner sides of the opposed walls of a tub, the vertical side arms of said U -shaped frames being provided with parallel vertical flanges to project inwardly from the tub walls, the upper ends of said side arms being bent laterally outward to rest upon the tub rim, a seat to extend between said side frames, and links pivoted to said seat and to said flanges and swingable to raised and lowered positions to allow vertical adjustment of the seat to a raised or a lowered position.

'7. A seat attachment for a bathtub, comprising two end members to abut the downwardly converging sides of the opposed walls of a tub, said end members having inner faces which converge downwardly when said members are in operative position, a seat to extend'between said end members and having beveled ends to abut said inner faces thereof when said seat occupies either a raised or a lowered position, and links pivoted to said seat and to said end members, said links being vertically swingable to allow said seat to occupy either said raised or said lowered position.

GEORGE B. BENTZ. 

